(1) Field of Art
The present invention relates to a wire lock comprising a take-up unit which encloses therein a wire for passing, for example, between a bicycle handle and a wheel so that the wire can be drawn out and rewound, and a lock with which a locking member connected to the fore end of the wire is brought into engagement for locking so that it can be disengaged therefrom for unlocking.
(2) Prior Art
Heretofore, there has been known a wire lock comprising a take-up unit and lock attached thereto integrally, in which a wire is mounted in the take-up unit so as to be rewindable automatically by means of a spring, and a locking member connected to the fore end of the wire is brought into engagement with the lock for locking so that it can be disengaged therefrom for unlocking. In such conventional wire locks as ordinary types of cord reel and convex, a latch mechanism for preventing the automatic rewinding tendency of the wire induced by the biasing force of the spring in any desired drawing-out position, without preventing the drawing out of the wire against the biasing force of the spring, is provided so that the inhibition of the rewind can be released manually. However, in the case where the wire is passed in the form of a loop through grip portions of plural cases, bags, or the like, then its fore end is inserted for locking into the lock integral with the take-up unit, and the take-up unit for the wire is lifted by hand, the wire will be drawn out automatically because it is impossible to prevent it, thus causing inconvenience in carrying it. Moreover, for example, in the case where two bicycles are locked by passing the wire between the handles of the bicycles and fitting it into the lock, the wire may be further drawn out because it is impossible to prevent it. Consequently, the wire may be removed from the handles of both bicycles even without releasing the locked state, and in this case the wire lock is no longer of use.